Photo credit:  Seahsellsonthepalm

Spa

We tried the couples massage at the spa – you can’t ever go wrong with a Thai therapist.  The Thais and Indonesians are born with an inherent sense of how to perform some of the best massages.  What is unique about this spa is their Cocoon spa which you will need to experience for yourself.  They are these beautiful weaved cocoons set in the jungle that make you feel that either a unique tribe has taken over.  We had two lovely therapists with strong hands, and the traditional massage ending with a good body stretch.  Comparing with prices in Dubai, they are much more affordable AED350 at the hotel.

Food & Beverage

There are 7 food & beverages outlets at the hotel offering a wide variety of food from local Thai to pasta to fine dining:

Room Service

The menu is rather limited, and naturally the local food was much better than the pasta – so choose the Pad Thai on any menu if in doubt as it was very good.  The pasta was probably a little over cooked according to my husband’s taste. The children tried the lamb and grouper fish, and they were happy with the lamb but the grouper fish was not the best.

Rivet Fine Dining

We had an adult only dinner at Rivet, which was a dark eccentric room that would have been a good bar or restaurant in London or New York with great fine dining style food.  We tried a set menu of tuna tartare, truffle risotto and a main course of grouper fish.  Very nicely presented with a good selection of wines, and after Dubai prices, most of the wines seem more affordable.

Black Ginger – highly recommended

This is Indigo Pearl’s signature restaurant, and probably the first hint that you are in Thailand – the restaurant looks very traditional with the continued running of Indigo Pearl’s dark and metallic theme.  The whole set up is stunning as your enter the lake through a corridor of blue lit steel shields.  Fire torches light the path, and for the children this was so exciting – it really felt like a mini-adventure.  The only way to get to the restaurant is on a movable platform on the water that you are pulled over by an old pulley system onto a old traditional looking Thai house set on the lake.  Every Saturday night, this restaurant serves a traditional Thai buffet that is exquisite and uncompromising to western pallets so you really get a feel of foods eaten by the Thai people from a wide range of curries to desserts and traditional street food.

Children’s Menu

The children’s menu could have been a little more varied, and I think children should be offered more food that hasn’t been fried like steam fish, rice and soup or maybe organic chicken.  The hotel was subjected to my family’s hardcore food tasting – the pizza was a bit disappointing as the base of the pizza had more of a biscuit consistency.  We would love to see a wood oven pizza station which is easy to do, and the pizzas will taste even better.

Outside the hotel

We love this hotel because there is the option of walking out of the hotel into the local village on the beach where there are several outlets mainly catering to the hardcore Kite Surfing crowd.  Outside the main gates, our family went often to The Sands, a reasonably priced restaurant that served Phuket and Canadian lobster, or Pad Thai, and the children loved the menu that was named after the different Disney creatures.

Hotel & Accommodation Review 1/3 – Read more ….

Indigo Pearl Facilities for Families Review 2/3 – Read more….

Indigo Pearl is a luxury resort located 10 minutes away from Phuket International Airport.  For more information go to www.indigo-pearl.com